As Republican presidential hopefuls vied for the affections of Fox News viewers during last night's GOP debate, one candidate was notably absent: Donald Trump. Citing "unfair treatment" from the network, the so-ridiculous-he-almost-has-to-be-a-parody-even-for-Republicans frontrunner refused to attend the debate, choosing instead to hold an event for veterans in Iowa. Throughout the night, according to Donald Trump, Donald Trump raised over $6 million dollars for unnamed charities, and one sizable donation came from a villain close to our own hearts: Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter.

Perlmutter, who has been a subject of frequent Outhouse reports for a personal vendetta against another Fox, the movie studio that owns the film rights to the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, reportedly gave Trump one million dollars last night. Was it a show of support for Trump, or for veterans? Surely there are other avenues for a reclusive billionaire to donate money to charity, so the move can only be seen as support of Trump himself. And in fact, a spokesman for Perlmutter told multiple outlets: "The Perlmutters are thrilled to support their friend Donald Trump in his efforts to help veterans."

The CEO of America's biggest comic book publisher's support of a presidential candidate with such outrageous positions as "Mexicans are rapists" and "let's ban Muslims" obviously didn't go over well with a lot of people, but, thankfully, handlebar mustache sporting, ukulele playing Marvel Editor Jordan White, himself no stranger to controversy, swiftly took to Twitter to defend Ike's honor, telling critics, "Eh. All companies are run by rich guys and all rich guys do stuff we would disagree with." White went on to discourage protest of the company that pays his salary, saying, "Not buying a movie ticket because a CEO donated money to a veterans charity is not 'heroic', it's pointless."

White's lackadaisical attitude toward the "stuff we would disagree with" that "rich guys" do with their money might seem surprising to those who view the incredible influence of money on the American political process negatively, and the move to position a multi-national corporation like Marvel as the potential victim of unfair targeting for the way its CEO chooses to wield that influence is, frankly, shameful. Ike Perlmutter is, of course, entitled to spend his enormous collection of wealth in any way he chooses, including, as a report from Graphic Policy shows, in the support of several other Republican candidates like Marco Rubio who advocate policies like reversing Roe vs. Wade. But surely, if that's true, then lowly consumers are also entitled to that same right to speak with their own, admittedly smaller collection of wealth, by not handing it over, five outrageous dollars at a time, to a corporation at the top of which sits Ike Perlmutter himself.

Unlike Jordan White, we won't tell you what to do with your money. Buy Marvel comics if you want. Vote for who you like. But we will tell you that anyone who discourages you from standing up for what you believe in by claiming it won't make a difference anyway doesn't have your best interest in mind. In a world where, increasingly, those with the most money wield the most power, the last thing those with less power should do is give up or give in. Just as in the upcoming election, it's imperative that you make your voice heard, or risk it being forever silenced.